


swept off her feet

by silversilky



Category: World Trigger
Genre: F/F, Pre-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 04:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6037669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversilky/pseuds/silversilky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sayoko was a good friend and a good operator, but in Kuma's opinion, she needed to stay out of people's personal business. Especially when it involved Rei Nasu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	swept off her feet

Sayoko Shiki was a demon in human form.

“I found our new sniper,” she stated matter-of-factly to Kuma while walking through the doorway of Nasu Squad’s room to reveal a small girl behind her wearing a large hat and an anxious expression. “She’s B-rank, shoots rings around me in Ultra Bulletscape: Unlimited, and also she’s my girlfriend.”

Kuma blinked twice slowly. “When did you start playing UBS:U?”

“Kunichika got me into it last month. It’s a solid game.”

Kuma nodded, then finally finished processing what Sayoko had said. “Wait, your girlfriend? Since when were you dating anyone?”

“Since I met Akane online a few weeks ago. She mentioned she worked for Border too, and we started talking.” Sayoko put her arm around Akane, who smiled nervously. “She’s perfect and we need her, Kuma.”

Kuma sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was true they needed a new sniper as soon as possible after the last one moved to another team, and this girl looked nice, but she didn’t know anything about her actual skill level. Anyway, Rei wasn’t even here yet, so it wasn’t like she could say yes or no immediately.

“Um, if you decide to take me, I’ll definitely contribute as much as I can to the team!” Akane said suddenly. “It’s fine if you can’t though, I don’t want to pressure you or anything… But I’d love to be on this team. Last night I went through the recordings of your Rank Battles and you’re all so amazing… If I could help you out as your teammate that would make me really happy!”

 _I’m adopting her_ , Kuma thought almost unconsciously.

“Well, first things first, it’s nice to meet you, Akane. I’m Kumagai.” She held out her hand, and Akane shook it enthusiastically.

Kuma smiled at her, and turned to Sayoko. “We’ll wait for our leader to get here before we make any decisions.”

Sayoko seemed to agree with this, and she sat in her chair. Kuma walked over to her to talk privately. Akane noticed and moved away to avoid eavesdropping on the two.

“Sayo, setting aside her skill, are you sure it’s a good idea to have your girlfriend on the team? There aren’t any official rules against it, but it could become a problem.”

The operator gave her a derisive stare. “You’re one to talk.”

Kuma sputtered. “That’s- Thats not the same. It’s not comparable to being in an actual relationship.”

“Not yet. When are you going to tell Nasu-senpai already?”

“I’m not going to. It isn’t important enough to risk our friendship or team over.”

“But it is important enough to eat you alive for the last year.” Sayoko didn’t look like she was teasing Kuma now. “Even if she’s not interested, it’s not like it’s the end of the world, and you’ll still be friends no matter what. There’s nothing holding you back but yourself.”

Kuma was going to reply, most likely with an excuse, when the door opened. Rei was sitting in a wheelchair in her normal body as she entered the room. “Hello, everyone. I see there’s someone new here?”

Akane saluted awkwardly. “It’s great to finally meet you, Nasu-senpai! I’m Akane Hiura, and-” She was thrown off-track as she noticed the person who was pushing Rei’s chair. “Narasaka-senpai? Why are you here?”

“My cousin called me to give her a hand,” he answered. “Are you thinking of joining her squad? You should have let me know.”

As they got into a conversation, Kuma went to Rei. “Are you all right? I was worried when you didn’t show up on time.”

Rei smiled at her. “I’m fine. I was just feeling a little too weak to walk today, and I left my Trigger here, so I called Tooru to help.”

“You could have called me, you know. I’d be happy to help you out.”

“Don’t worry, I know. Tooru was just closer at the time.” Rei reached out to hold her hand, and Kuma grasped it tightly. “Thank you for the offer though. I’ll let you know if I’m ever in trouble.”

Kuma noticed Akane making mock gun noises and posing in front of Narasaka as he nodded, and decided she didn’t want to know what they were discussing.

“In fact, it look like my cousin is busy at the moment, so do you think you could help me get over to my Trigger?” Rei asked.

Kuma grinned and immediately reached under the light-haired girl to pick her up like she weighed nothing at all. Rei put her arms around Kuma’s neck for support as she carried her across the room, and Kuma felt her heart beat faster.

A bit reluctantly, she carefully put Rei down in a chair next to where her Trigger was kept. Rei pulled it out and activated it, and in a second she was standing and wearing the white uniform Sayoko had created for them.

“Thank you, Kuma.”

Kuma nodded with a smile, and then saw Sayoko’s shit-eating grin from the other side of the table.

The black-suited girl typed something on her phone and after a second Kuma received a text: **could’ve just given her the trigger, no need to pick her up lol**

Kuma nearly hurled the phone at her.

* * *

“Welcome all, to the first of this season’s Rank Battles! I’m Ebina Squad’s operator, Sakurako Taketomi, and I’ll be your commentator for this match.” 

The tiny, red-haired girl at the commentator’s desk turned to face the two others sitting beside her. “With me today, we have the Human Bamboo Shoot, Tooru Narasaka of Miwa Squad, and Border's Thorny Rose, Ai Kitora of Arashiyama Squad!”

Before either could object to their nicknames, she was back to commentating. “And the match has begun! This is my first time personally seeing Nasu Squad in action, and it looks like they have a new sniper. Let’s find out what kind of team they’ve become!”

Kuma’s breaths were heavy and quick as she ran, sword in hand, through the generated cityscape. There was already an enemy sniper after her, and there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about that at the moment.

She wasn’t sure where her teammates had teleported in yet, but Kuma was sure Akane could get to a good position based on Narasaka’s quiet praise of her skill. Rei, especially, would have almost any opponents under control. It didn’t stop her from worrying.

Ever since they were young, Kuma had always felt the need to protect Rei. She knew full well that the quiet, wise girl was more than capable of taking care of herself. But the urge stayed.

Kuma rounded the corner of a large building and took cover beneath a balcony. She allowed herself a few seconds to think.

Rationally, she knew there wasn’t a worse time to be adrift in an ocean of gay thoughts. But Sayoko’s words had best rattling in her head for the last week.

 _There’s nothing holding you back but yourself_.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was probably true. Rei had been the first to know when Kuma had realized that she was a girl, the first to know when she discovered she liked other girls, and the first to come to her defense when anyone had a problem with those facts. She had been by her side as long as Kuma could remember. Rei wouldn’t leave because of something like this.

As she thought those words she nearly missed her operator’s yelled warning. Kuma leapt out of the way, but the sniper’s bullet still sliced through the leg of her Trion body, effectively cutting it off at the knee and slicing open the other leg.

Kuma fell, unable to support herself with only one barely usable leg remaining. She cursed her clouded mind and tried to pull herself up against the wall, but failed. Trion was leaking out of the wounds fast.

Was she going to have to quit without getting even one point for Rei? “Damn it! Bail Out!”

Nothing happened.

“The sniper’s too close,” Sayoko said over her com. “You can’t bail out yet. Just try to get around that corner to the apartment building down the street, then they won’t have a clean shot at you.”

Kuma crawled to where she had been told as fast as possible, her anger dissolving into disappointment. She had been distracted, enough to become a burden to her squad.

“I’m sorry, Rei,” she said through their Trion link telepathically. “I wasn’t able to do anything.”

“That’s not true. You kept that sniper distracted for more than long enough for me and Akane to corner his teammates. He would have taken me out if not for you.” Rei didn’t sound like she was trying to comfort Kuma, just telling her the truth.

“But that’s not enough.” Kuma was speaking faster than her mind could keep up and barely holding her feelings back. “I… I’ve never done enough for you, Rei, not nearly enough to show you how much you mean to me.”

“But I already know.”

She wasn’t talking through the link this time. Rei was right there, in the entrance to the apartments - was she near this location from the beginning? Could that be why Sayoko sent her here?

With a strange grin, Rei knelt down in front of Kuma. “You don’t have to do anything, Kuma. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think I know how you feel.” Kuma felt her childhood friend lift her up and carry her in her arms like she was in a dream. “And If I'm right... I feel the same way.”

Rei Nasu’s lips were soft against Kuma’s as she pulled herself forward without thinking, and Rei returned the movement, not wasting a second.

“I love this team already!” bellowed Sakurako Taketomi from the commentator’s booth.

* * *

Kuma was never leaving the bed.

She had her arm lifted to cover her face out of embarrassment, but she could still feel Sayoko’s grin burning a hole in her.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Sayoko replied.

“You’re thinking. Stop it.”

“What, are you Kageura now? That’s scary.”

Kuma groaned.

After her and Rei’s- she hesitated before calling it what it was- _kiss_ , the sniper had been taken out by Akane. Maybe he had been distracted by their sudden embrace. But as soon as he was gone, Kuma regained her senses and immediately used Bail Out, flying from Rei’s arms and appearing in the bed she still lay in.

There was still one member of the opposing team choosing not to quit and doggedly pursuing her teammates, so Kuma was currently alone with Sayoko.

And now she had the pleasure of replaying that moment in her head over and over and over. Kuma was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that Rei not only accepted her feelings, she returned them.

“Kuma, you might want to move.”

A quiet _voorrrp_ sounded directly above her, and a person appeared from thin air to land on top of Kuma with a small “ _oof_.”

Even before she uncovered her eyes, Kuma recognized Nasu’s scent from her position underneath the girl. She blushed fiercely, realizing what had happened.

“Ah, Kuma. There you are.” Rei seemed to be in no hurry to get off of Kuma, and only pushed herself up to look her in the eyes. “We’ve practically won the Rank Battle. The last enemy’s leaking Trion in twenty places, and Akane will be able to snipe him easily.”

“That’s… great.” Kuma somehow couldn’t bring herself to care about enemies or points right now. “Um. Aren’t you… uncomfortable?”

“Don’t you remember? It’s hard for me to walk right now. I’ll need to rest right here for a while.”

Kuma noticed Rei’s subtle reddening around the cheeks too, and despite her own heartbeat racing away, decided to try to tease her a bit. “You’re a great kisser, you know.”

“Hmm? I don’t remember us having a real kiss yet.”

Kuma’s eyes went wide, and Rei laughed. “It doesn’t count if we’re in Trion bodies.” She lowered herself to nearly touch Kuma’s face. “Now, Kuma, this is a real kiss.”

Kuma covered the tiny distance and their lips met again, this time in their true bodies. When they parted, Kuma remembered something important. “Wait, how did you know how I felt? Was it that obvious?”

Rei shook her head. “You were keeping it secret quite well, at least from me. If not for a certain mutual friend I wouldn’t have noticed the signs.”

Kuma was confused for a second. Who could have… Her voice became a low growl. “Sayoko.”

"I may have hinted at it a bit.” Sayoko’s phone made a noise and she checked it quickly, the grin never fading. “I’ve been getting congratulations texts from half the other operators. Ayatsuji was there. According to her Narasaka didn’t seem surprised at all and Kitora’s face was redder than her team jacket.”

“You told the operators too?” Kuma sighed and covered her face again. Rei’s quiet laugh washed away any feelings of humiliation at having the details of her love life broadcasted throughout Border.

“At our last get-together. I stayed home, obviously, but I was chatting with everyone online. I left your names out, though. They must have guessed it was you after hearing about the match.”

With another  _voorrrp_ , Akane appeared in the other bed next to them. She jumped to her feet. “I got him! I got the last one!”

Becoming very aware of their position, Kuma and Rei quickly moved off each other and sat up. “That’s great, Akane,” said Rei. “You got the most points out of all of us.”

The small girl was practically bouncing up and down from the excitement of her first true battle. Sayoko walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, only making her happier.

Rei reached out and squeezed Kuma’s hand. A new wave of affection came over her, and with it came a bit of clarity.

Kuma realized one final thing. If the other bed had been open, Rei should have been automatically sent there, not on top of her. Unless… someone with access to their systems had done something. Someone like an operator.

Sayoko Shiki was a demon from hell, but somehow Kuma couldn’t find it in her to be angry with her for long.


End file.
